The graphics are first rate, with beautiful, varied stages and interesting creatures. You'll encounter headless skeletons, cyclops, genies, crabs, ninjas, goblins, cobras, and dragon bosses. The only creature I do NOT like is the pesky "cloud" that always drops fire on you - he's a real pain in the butt. Defeated enemies drop items, and I like how the number of coins they drop has a random element. I also appreciate the wide selection of items you can purchase, including some expensive "mystery" items. Wonder Boy III is far deeper and more challenging than other Wonder Boy games, and it provides unlimited continues and a password feature. This may be the best game I've ever played on the Sega Master System.

This brilliant Sega game kept me up late for more than a few nights when I first got hold of it. The combination of adventuring, shooting and platform action results in one of the best games of it's type available on any console. The graphics are simply superb - especially when the hero changes into one of his many guises - Dragon Man is my favourite, since you can roast everything in your path with your fiery breath. The game is huge and there's loads to discover - one of the reasons why it's so amazingly addictive. If you're a new Sega owner, or simply missed out when this was released, make sure you add this to your collection.

The Dragon's Curse was just one of an entire series of great games that never got the respect it deserved. If you are lucky to find this, or any of the other line of Monster World titles, give it a whirl. You won't be disappointed.

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is a very creative game. The ability to change form keeps things interesting and fun. With the save feature you can take your time exploring and enjoy the game over an extended period of time.

Although bright and jolly backgrounds they lack detail but scrolling is smooth and, at the end-of-level monster stage, fast. Sprites are excellent, making great use of colour and with a cute cartoon look. Spot effects, produced by the Engine itself, are merely average but the music from the CD is brilliant, a mixture of funny, dramatic and speedy pieces.

Although the graphics are a little blocky, they are bright and suit the game perfectly. The scrolling is very smooth and fast, but it's a pity that it's not parallax. The music, however, is excellent throughout the game and worth listening to through some headphones if you have a GT. Adventure Island is a great game that should keep you playing for weeks.

Dragon's Curse, by Hudson Soft, has very good graphics that are consistent throughout the entire game. Combined with catchy music and good game play, it all makes for a great game. And yes, it is a crossover game. Those of you who own a Sega Master System may recognize this game as Wonder Boy 3. [rank in issue #5]

I’ll be honest with you folks: this has to be one of the best platformers on the Game Gear. This doesn’t exactly mean that this game is immaculate when it comes to replay, but it ends up better than the average platformer. The major point against The Dragon’s Trap’s replay value would be the password system, which due to the numerous elements of the game, ends up at about 20 characters per password. Ah, well. You can’t win them all. Still, it’s a fun game that holds up even to this day. There are other releases of the game, including Dragon’s Curse on the Turbo-Grafx 16, the original Sega Master System version, as well as the Japan-only Sega Ages Wonder Boy release for the PS2, which contains all of the games in the series.

Wonder Boy III was one of the ‘must-have’ games for the Master System back in its day, and as such it is worthy of your consideration on the Virtual Console. Unfortunately it is overshadowed by a superior version on the TurboGrafx-16 system which is already available on the Virtual Console. This version would be most recommended to nostalgic Master System fans who want to become reacquainted with the same title they played all those years ago. If that’s you, then this is the one to buy, but everyone else should cough up 100 points extra to enjoy a more refined experience.

The Wonder Boy series has a strong fan following that still exists today. Dragon's Curse doesn't have the Wonder Boy branding, but it is almost the exact same game as the Master System hit Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap. Since the Virtual Console doesn't yet support the SMS, this is as close as fans are going to get for now – and seeing as this version is graphically and audibly updated, it's not such a difficult compromise.

Wonder Boy III is a very jolly looking game with some nicely shaded backgrounds overlaid with colourful cartoon-like sprites, the Boy himself being particularly well-drawn. Animation is weak on some characters but effective on others and the game only scrolls on short, CinemaScope corridors, and then with a judder, albeit a minor one. It's still one of the best looking Sega games around but do you really want to spend 28 quid on it?

70

WiiEurogamer.net (UK)

Again, it's hard to avoid the Castlevania comparison, and if you consider this a bright and breezy kid-friendly version of that vampiric classic then you'll have a good idea of what to expect. Solid fun.

The sprites are fun and well animated (look out for the way Wonder Boy himself skids to a halt when you stop). The scenery features are very good too, like the giant springs which launch Wonder Boy/Lizard Man onto higher platforms. Good arcade adventure fare for the committed...